Vanilla polylepis is a climbing orchid species in the plant family Orchidaceae. It is native to tropical Africa, with a range spanning the width of the continent, from Kenya to Angola. It grows in high-altitude evergreen and swamp forests between and is often found growing on trees bordering rivers and waterfalls. Plants produce bright green, fleshy stems, in diameter, with large, glossy leaves. White, aerial roots form on the stems allowing the orchids to attach themselves to trees for support. As with many orchids, they produce showy flowers, which in the case of V. polylepis are white and yellow with a pink to maroon blotch. This differentiates them from similar species. They have seedpod-like fruits, called capsules, which produce a distinctive aroma as they dry. They are closely related to the well-known species Vanilla planifolia, whose seed pods are used commercially in the production of vanilla flavouring. Description V. polylepis is a climbing vine. It has a fleshy, succulent stem with an intense green colour. The stem can reach about in length and has a diameter of . The stems are angular with channels running along their length. Leaves are produced in an alternating disposition along the stem, measuring in length and in width at full size. They are lanceolate shaped (long and narrow with a pointed end). Like the stems, the leaves are a bright, intense green. The stem also produces a specialised type of aerial root, called an adventitious root, which forms above ground, directly from the stem. These roots serve to anchor the plant to trees or can also become absorptive roots if they trail and come into contact with the soil. Flowers are produced either on the main stem or grouped on secondary stems called inflorescences. Although each inflorescence may have up to 20 flowers, only a few of these will be open at any one time and wild plants are rarely found flowering. As with other orchids, V. polylepis has highly modified flowers. Petals and sepals are whitish/green with yellow bases and measure by . Each flower has two petals (left and right), two lateral sepals (left and right), and a dorsal sepal, all of which are superficially alike. In the centre of the flower is a modified, funnel-like petal with frilled edges (lip/labellum). The lip is a bright pink-purple colour and surrounds a column which contains the ovaries and also produces pollen at its